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Where No Man Has Gone Before
' |image= |series= |production=6149-02 |producer(s)= |story= |script=Samuel A. Peeples |director=James Goldstone |imdbref=tt0061027 |guests=Gary Lockwood as Gary Mitchell, Sally Kellerman as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, Lloyd Haines as Lt. Aiden, Andrea Dromm as Yeoman Smith, Paul Carr as Lt. Lee Kelso, Paul Fix as Dr. Mark Piper |previous_production=The Cage |next_production=The Man Trap |episode=TOS S01E03 |airdate=22 September 1966 |previous_release=Charlie X |next_release=The Naked Time |story_date(s)=Stardates 1312.4-1313.8 (2265) |previous_story=The Cage |next_story=The Corbomite Maneuver }} =Summary= While patrolling near the outer boundary of our galaxy, the Enterprise beams aboard the flight recorder of the Valiant, a galactic survey vessel that had visited the area almost two centuries before. Upon attempting to leave our galaxy, the survey vessel had come into contact with an energy barrier, which disabled the ship and killed some of the crew. One crewman, however, recovered from serious injuries sustained within the barrier. From this point, the tape's information is garbled; there are repeated requests for data on extra-sensoy perception (ESP), and a self-destruct order, apparently given by the Valiant's captain. Puzzled but determined, Captain Kirk decides to move forward, only to contact the same energy barrier that had disabled the Valiant. Unknown radiations penetrate the ship, and Kirk orders the Enterprise back out of the energy field. Several crewmen are dead, and two have been knocked unconscious; Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell, a friend of Kirk's since their Acadamy days, and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, a psychiatrist. Both recover and seem unharmed - though Mitchell's eyes now glow a bright silver. The ship's warp drive engines are also severely damaged. In sick bay, Kirk learns that Mitchell is feeling completely well. He is also reading material he never understood before with complete comprehension, and his reading skill is incredible. Showing off to Dr. Dehner, Mitchell "plays dead" by stopping all his bodily functions for almost a full minute. He is mutating into something beyond human. Kirk and Spock discover Gary Mitchell's ESP quotient is extremely high, as is Dr. Dehner's. At a meeting of the Enterprise department heads, Sulu states Mitchell's powers are developing at an astounding rate. Spock suggests Kirk kill Mitchell now, while he still can, and cautions him not to wait too long, as the captain of the Valiant obviously did. Unwilling to murder a man who was once one of his closest friends, Kirk sets course for Delta Vega, an uninhabited planet with an automated lithium cracking station that can aid in repairing their damaged warp drive engines. Kirk intends to maroon Mitchell there. Mitchell is sedated and transported to the planet, where he's confined within a hastily built brig, but Gary has grown too strong to be held by a force field. Declaring that he has become a god, he escapes, taking along Dehner, who has also begun to mutate. Kirk follows with a phaser rifle, and Mitchell attempts to kill him with his psi powers. Dehner, realising what Mitchell has become, helps Kirk overpower the mad superman, and is killed in the attempt. Aboard the Enterprise, Kirk records that crewmen Mitchell and Dehner died in the line of duty. =Errors and Explanations= Plot Oversights # Confusion over who the title refers to. According to the trivia section of this episode's entry in the Internet Movie Database, the title is taken from the opening pre credits monologue, although it could be intended to link Mitchell and Dehner with the crew member from the Valiant. Nit Central # Jonathan (Jon0815) on Saturday, February 05, 2011 - 4:54 am - When Spock says that the recording describes the Valiant being caught in a magnetic storm, Kirk comments that "The old impulse engines couldn't handle it". Does that mean the Valiant didn't have warp drive? It's more likely that Kirk is referring to the fact that the impulse engines on the Valiant were less powerful that those of the Enterprise. # How did the Valiant get to the edge of the galaxy - several thousand light years from Earth - at sublight speeds? Did the magnentic storm somehow propel it at warp speed? Either that or a wormhole. Internet Movie Database Character error # When the Enterprise officers are in the boardroom discussing the increase in Gary's ESP abilities, Sulu uses the word "geometric" instead of "exponential". While both refer to growth rates of a mathematical function proportional to the function's current value, "geometric" refers to a function with discrete domain values; "exponential" refers to a continuous domain value. (Sulu's description of starting with a penny and doubling it daily is correctly geometric, but Mitchell's ESP was continually growing, so exponential would be more appropriate.) Perhaps Mitchell's abilities are doubling at this stage. # Gary Mitchell makes Captain Kirk's "headstone" which reads: "James R. Kirk." In all other Star Trek references, his name is "James Tiberius Kirk". Even in his god-like state, Mitchell is capable of making mistakes Crew or equipment visible # Lee Kelso's wristwatch is visible under his uniform sleeve at 4 minutes 3 second. Possibly a good luck charm? Incorrectly regarded as goofs # The events of this episode obviously occur significantly earlier than the bulk of the rest of the series. As such, the educational title of physicist that is given to Sulu is in line with subsequent appearances where he is later promoted to the positional title of, and referred to as a 'helmsman'. Both Sulu and Spock have time to change their occupation, and as such get promotions and change their respective uniform colors. Ex Astris Scientia Inconsistencies # It is curious in hindsight that 1) Kirk asks Dr. Dehner about ESP rather than Spock, who clearly has such abilities as a Vulcan, and 2) she and Mitchell develop ESP powers rather than him. 1) Dehner has specialist knowledge of ESP. 2) Spock may be immune to the effects of the barrier, possibly due to his Vulcan physiology. Category:The Original Series Category:Episodes Category:Pilot Episodes